Mobile computing devices, such as smartphones and tablet computers, have become increasingly common tools for both entertainment and business productivity. These devices have seen an increase in their hardware processing power, which has contributed to their ability to execute robust applications while taking advantage of user interface feature set provided by the native operating system of the device. Such applications are generally developed, compiled and packaged in advance, and made available to consumers via an online marketplace such as an app store. Users can select applications for purchase and download them to the device.
Traditionally, application developers and producers have tracked the install base and usage of the applications via an identifier that is unique to a specific mobile device or hardware component. Examples of such identifiers include the Unique Device Identifier (UDID) assigned to devices like the iPhone and iPad from Apple Computer, Inc., the serial number assigned to various devices, or the Media Access Control (MAC) address assigned to certain networking interfaces found in mobile devices.
Consumer privacy concerns, however, have prompted hardware manufacturers and application providers to stop use of these unique identifiers for tracking device usage and for sharing data between applications installed on the device. Therefore, what is needed is a method and system for tracking usage of mobile device applications, and for sharing data between mobile device applications, that is independent of reliance on unique device identifiers like the UDID.